Lady Geckos sweep MS x-country

A clean sweep of the qualifiers was the name of the game in the PSS/NMA All Schools Cross-Country 2024-2025 season.

The Lady Geckos of Saipan International School swept the middle school girls division after coming out first again in the fourth and final qualifier last Saturday at the CPA Airport Field.

This sweep makes it the eighth sweep of the season. In previous reports, Agape Christian School Torchbearers swept the high school division, while Brilliant Star School swept the elementary school division, Victor Nash Santos swept the high school boys individual standings, and elementary school runners Beau Bauer and Lovel Spaeth swept all four qualifiers.

The Lady Geckos came out on top with the lowest and best score of 13. Dandan Middle School Tottots and Hopwood Middle School Hilitais were tied at 32 points each, while ACS accumulated 51.

For the boys team standings, DMS was first with a score of 20. SIS was second with 47 points, Chacha Ocean View Middle School Lancherus was third at 51; the Hilitais were fourth at 56; ACS was fifth at 60; and Francisco M. Sablan Middle School was last at 99.

In individual standings, DMS’ Jacob Encabo took first place in the boys division with a time of 13:15; ACS’ Lucas Yang came in second at 14 minutes flat, and DMS’ Yuxi Lu was third at 14:16.

The girls division Top 3 was swept by SIS runners. Faith Arriola was first at 16:16, while second was Neveah Arriola at 17:01, and third was Beatrice Gross at 18:09.

Dr. Ron Snyder, SIS headmaster and coach and meet director said of the season’s many sweeps, “ACS sweep in the HS boys has been really interesting. Both MHS and SIS put forward strong teams with some great times. It is a testament to Agape’s program that they have so much depth that they are able to score victories race after race. But I wouldn’t count out either MHS or SIS in the championships.”

He added, “The SIS MS girls also swept the season, earning a perfect score twice. They have shown amazing athleticism and I expect a great finish from them in the championships.”

This race concludes the qualifier rounds of the season. The championship is set for this Saturday, Oct. 12, at the Saipan Country Club (Saipan Vegas) at 6:30am.